Simple, Pure Food
One of my favorite things about late summer in California is all the fresh produce available, especially when it comes from my own garden! 
There is something so satisfying about picking and eating veggies that you, or a farmer you know, grew. I’m always a little surprised by how easy gardening is. You just plant some little plants and give them some water and, amazingly, they grow! It sounds funny to say, but I am amazed by the generosity of my garden plants, making all these amazing leaves and flowers and fruits for us to pick, eat and enjoy! My body and soul feel nourished eating simple, whole foods.
But what about dessert? Although organic brownies and peanut brittle probably aren’t growing in your garden, here at Allison’s Gourmet we’re also committed to the philosophy of whole foods. Our treats are extremely delicious precisely because we use only the finest pure, organic ingredients. We use whole-grain flours and avoid ingredients like corn syrup and egg-replacer. 
The original flavor of our award-winning organic brownies, for example, contains just a few simple ingredients:
(vegan) organic cane juice, organic whole-wheat pastry flour, organic hi-oleic sunflower oil, organic fair-trade cocoa, arrowroot, sea salt, and non-aluminum baking powder.
Just like those zucchini going crazy in your garden, these are desserts you can feel good about eating.
Brownie O’Clock
Like so many other people these days, I realized a few years ago that I’m sensitive to wheat gluten. My sensitivity is partly what has prompted my move to make more of our products wheat-free and gluten-free. I was so tired of not being able to eat my own products!
Ever since we transitioned our organic brownies to be made with organic oat flour, I’ve had our baker make a few mini brownies in each batch, so that I can have some to taste test for “quality control.” Taste testing all of our products is one of my favorite parts of my job, but when our products were made with wheat, my taste tests of each organic brownie batch could only be one little bite. Now, I get to eat a whole mini brownie by myself if I want to! In fact, I’ve become so addicted that Tessa, my assistant, began calling my almost-daily brownie habit, “brownie o’clock”. The term has now expanded to include “chocolate o’clock” for Tessa, and “cookie o’clock” for my husband, David, who loves our new (Wheat-Free) Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies.
Do you have a daily ritual or special self-loving indulgence? What’s your “pleasure o’clock”?
What Mothering Means to Me
My journey to Motherhood has been by far the most enriching, stretching, humbling experience thus far. I often joke that I was the “Perfect Mother” before my daughter was born because I knew it all. Now that I have unwittingly invited my guru to live with me 24/7, I realize how little I do know and it’s so much easier to let go of judgments I once had. Each child is different and requires subtly different types of parenting. Before I had my daughter, I thought all children needed exactly the same thing. Yes, there are similar basic needs, but there is no simple formula to perfect mothering. Oh how well Olivia has taught me that!
For me, Mothering is a Spiritual endeavor like no other. I continuously have to set aside my own needs to tend to the needs of Olivia. The important part is remembering to return to my needs and tend to them. This is where my self-healing practices come in.
- I begin my day by nourishing my body with vibrant, vegan, organic, whole foods, and fresh veggie juices. When I have the nourishment I need, all things come more easily.
- Although I have fought it at times throughout my life, I am mindful of my need for regular exercise. I studied yoga for many years and throughout my pregnancy, yet Mothering has taught me that I need a more vigorous outlet. Now that I’ve found Nia, I get the release I need and it’s much more fun to literally ‘Dance through Life’ and get my exercise at the same time.
- Before I became vegan in 1997, there were extra 10-15 pounds that didn’t seem to want to leave my body, so I used to put forth a lot of effort to find fat-free treats. Through self-inquiry and exploration, I discovered that eating consciously is a necessity. One of the ways I do this is to remove distractions and focus while I’m eating, especially goodies. Additionally, choosing only the highest quality sweets allows me to be more deeply satisfied with less quantity, so even though it may be more expensive and higher in fat, I am ultimately saving money and calories by choosing premium foods. Now that we are transitioning our brownies to be wheat-free, Tessa (my assistant extraordinaire!) jokes that it’s “Brownie o’clock.”
- Doing work I am passionate about inspires me to strive toward my greatness. Sharing that joy is one of the best parts of my life and knowing that I’m doing so without harming other beings makes it even better. This is a wonderful side-effect of being vegan.
- Living in a rural area and being surrounded by Nature feeds my soul. Whenever I need a moment to regroup or get grounded, I need only look out my window or step out my door to be renewed.
- Nurturing friendships with a few close people helps me to know that even when I feel like an insane mother, I’m actually doing ok.
Embracing my role as a Mother has been a most awesome process and certainly the biggest endeavor I have ever embarked on. To temper my feelings of overwhelm at the vastness of it all, I try to remember that at the base of parenting, one of the primary gifts I can share with my daughter is how to accept and cope when things don’t go her way in the world. If she has that tool, she’ll be far better off than most adults I know! 
Here’s to Mothering and the fullness of it all. How lucky we are to have the choice to live our lives consciously, compassionately, and with deep love toward our little ones and all beings.
Announcing: Our New Wheat-Free Brownies Now Available!
We did it! Today we shipped the first order of our new Half Original/Half Pecan Wheat-Free Brownies! It’s a big day for us because this is something that I’ve been dreaming about and working towards for a long time. As a fan of Allison’s Gourmet, you probably know that I insist that all our gourmet vegan goodies taste at least as good, if not better, than their non-vegan counterparts. So it may go without saying that we’d only offer gluten-free baked goods if they, too, met my high standards for quality and taste.
For years, I have played with a variety of gluten-free flours, but none ever measured up to my requirements. Then, about a month ago, we started playing in the test kitchen, substituting organic oat flour for the organic whole-wheat pastry flour we had been using. And Eureka! Just last week, we got the perfect results I’d been hoping for. Trust me, our new wheat-free brownies are awesome and no one would ever guess they were missing a thing!
Now you may notice that I’m saying “wheat-free” instead of “gluten-free.” That’s because, while oats themselves do not contain gluten, they are often processed with glutinous grains like wheat, and therefore have the possibility of containing traces of gluten. We are working to find a supplier of oat flour that is both gluten-free and organic. In the meantime, we’re using organic oat flour (which may contain traces of gluten) in our Half Original/Half Pecan Brownies. So, depending upon sensitivity level, those who are reactive to wheat, may, at long last, be able to enjoy our brownies! Stay tuned for more wheat-free flavors coming soon.
We’d like to know: Are you as excited about wheat-free baked goods as we are?!
Monthly Clubs Coming Soon!
What an exciting couple of weeks it’s been! Now that I have a minute to catch my breath, let me tell you what’s been going on around here. The last two weeks in March were awesome. We had a blast filling all your Easter baskets and we hope that everyone had a very happy holiday weekend.
Yesterday we shipped organic brownies, cookies and fudge to all of our lucky monthly club members. I had a chance to taste this month’s Amaretto Almond Brownies, and let me tell you, they are amazingly delicious. Looking forward to summer, monthly clubs are a great way to keep a stash of healthy treats on hand for hungry kids (and adults) home from school or on vacation. Our organic brownies, fudge, and cookies also make delicious vegan additions to picnics and barbecues.
In the Works: Gluten-Free and Sugar-Free Baked Goods
One of our goals here at Allison’s Gourmet is to offer the very best, most delicious, premium sweets available. We strive to create elegant, delicious vegan desserts that everyone can enjoy. In that direction we’ve been doing all kinds of baking tests lately working on making gluten- and sugar-free versions of our organic brownies and cookies that are just as good as our originals. Today we tested a gluten-free version of our classic chocolate chip cookies with organic coconut sugar and they turned out really good! We’re still perfecting the gluten- and sugar-free organic brownies, but are confident that we’ll get there!!
We want to know: is gluten-free important to you? How about sugar-free?
Monthly Club Shipments on Their Way!
It’s the first Monday of the month which means that February’s batch of awesome organic cookies, brownies and fudge is
on its way to all of our lucky Monthly Club members out there! This month’s organic brownie flavor is Cherry Chocolate in honor of Valentine’s Day, while our chocolate fudge flavor spices things up Chipotle Cinnamon style. To round out this all-chocolate occasion, our organic cookies this month are Double Chocolate Chunk. If these treats sound enticing and you’re not yet a Monthly Club member, visit our website at AllisonsGourmet.com to check it out.
Sneak Peak: Brownie Flavors
We’re famous for our organic brownies, and for all you fans out there, here’s a sneak preview of the delectable
flavors we’ll be offering in the coming months: February is gorgeous Cherry Chocolate Brownies just in time for Valentine’s Day. For those of you who like your chocolate truly unadulterated, March’s flavor will be Original. In April we’ll be offering Amaretto Almond Brownies, an exquisite fusion of nutty, toasted almonds, sweet amaretto, and rich dark chocolate. Finally, for the ultimate chocolate experience, we’ll have Double Chocolate Brownies in May, so you can give your Mom some awesome organic brownies for Mother’s Day. Enjoy!